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Before we left home last June we spent a lot time determining what the goals of our trip would be. What did we want to accomplish? Learn? How could we change? Be better people? How did we want to grow from this opportunity? Every time we brought the topic up, we quickly realized there was a common want or need. We wanted to help. In a very broad way, we simply wanted to help people, the earth, animals. We didn’t care! We were open so long as it was a fit for our whole family. We knew from the get-go that we would be incorporating random acts of kindness as a daily goal but I wanted to take it a step further. I kept coming back to the idea of volunteering.

"Have you ever been? Have you seen the recent news? Read the latest travel warnings? You’re bringing the boys? Be careful. I used to go to Baja back when it was safe, but now, I’ll never go again." These are just a few things people were saying to us before we left for Baja, Mexico. As I'm sure you can imagine, we were not totally psyched given all the "glowing" reviews. In fact, we were so nervous we almost threw our plans to visit out the window. Ultimately, we made the decision to go and are so thankful we didn't cave in to the fear.

One of the most exhilarating feelings on the road is the day we cruise into new territory. For us, that typically involves windows rolled down, excitement in our voices, and music bumping as we drive along about to cross a state line or border. We had a memorable last night in Washington but were thrilled to be taking the route into Oregon, a bucket list destination we've both wanted to visit for years.

Since we decided to take this journey a year and a half ago, we've had the good fortune to talk with a massive amount of people. We get a lot of questions, but, far and away, people want to know about money. Some will disguise it a bit and ask us what we "do". Others are more forthright and just ask how we can afford to take what they perceive to be a perpetual vacation. Most are just honestly curious about how we'll make ends meet. Good questions, everyone. They're ones we worried ourselves with at the beginning.

Some of you think this idea is crazy. Some of you might think it's crazy awesome. It's a mixed bag and we totally get that. We are still surprised we both had the guts to say 'let's go for it' and then actually make it happen. It's definitely dramatically easier when both people in a relationship are on the same page. We have been answering a lot of very legitimate questions about why we are doing this. To get inside our heads a bit, we have compiled six reasons why we decided to quit our day jobs, rent out our house, and travel for the next year (or two?):